CEMETERY FAQ
CEMETERY SYMBOLISM
CEMETERY MONUMENTS
FRATERNAL AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
GLOSSARY OF CEMETERY TERMS
LETTERS, MONOGRAMS & ABBREVIATIONS

POSTCARDS
Link to VINTAGEVIEWS OF ROCHESTER for a  look at some vintage Mt. Hope Cemetery postcards. To return to this page, use the link for 'TIMELINE' at the top of the page.

1832
• Cholera epidemic hits city, killing 120, and filling the city's many small cemeteries.
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1836
• Fear of bodies contaminating groundwater, overcrowding in existing cemeteries and the need of downtown land force search for a new cemetery outside the city. Two sites are proposed, one on the west bank of  Irondequoit Bay and the Silas Andrus property 1 1/2 miles from the city on east the side of the river. Extreme hills and gullies on this site and high price cause problems, but this is the location chosen.
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1837
• 53.86 acres purchased from Silas Andrus for $5,386. Mr. Andrus had just purchased the property at $6 per acre, and made a nice profit.
• Major David Bates Douglass, is asked to layout the cemetery. His proposal to level the hills and remove the trees was immediately rejected. Silas Cornell, the city surveyor was then given the job, and he transformed an overgrown wilderness into one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the country.
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1838 
• No decision could be reached for a name for the new cemetery. A laborer, William Wilson, on his invoices submitted during the cemetery's construction wrote 'for labor at Mount Hope'. Without being formally adopted, but by general acceptance, that is how the cemetery was named.
• First interment: William Carter buried Aug. 18 1838 
• Samuel Miller, a 4 year old child, died at 2:30 P. M., on October 3rd during the dedication ceremony. He was the first official burial after the consecration. 
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1839
• Egyptian style wooden Entrance gate built. 
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1847
• Ellwanger & Barry (their nursery was across the street) give 50 rare and unusual shade trees to the cemetery.
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1859
• A Gothic Revival entrance building replaces the original structure. 
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1863
• Gothic Chapel with underground holding vault is built. 
• Horse drawn streetcar service begins from downtown to Mount Hope. 
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1865
• 78.57 acres added, along with several earlier small purchases, bring the final size of Mount Hope to 196 acres, with 14 1/2 miles of roads. Being surrounded by residential areas and Strong Memorial Hospital, the cemetery can no longer expand. 
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1865-1881
• George Stillson is Superintendent of the Cemetery. A civil engineer, he devises a plan to tunnel 500 feet through the Indian Trail esker to drain water from a large swamp near the new chapel. This opened up a large area to productive use.
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1872
• Moorish revival gazebo covering a drinking fountain is built. 


1874

• Gate and gate house designed by A. J. Warner, replaced earlier gate. 
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1875
• Ornamental fountain added to circular drive
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1884
• Cemetery records from 1846 to 1857, thought lost in a 1857 fire are found in St. Catherines, Canada. They had been taken by John Robertson to cover his embezzlement of $40,000 from the Cemetery Endowment Fund.
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1912
• A crematorium designed by J. F. Warner  (son of A. J. Warner), is added to the new chapel. Cemetery Office is also built.
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1980
• Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery is organized to restore, preserve, and encourage the public use and enjoyment of the significant cultural resource that is Mount Hope. They provide free guided walking tours, speakers for interested groups, a garden committee that restores and maintains gardens throughout the cemetery. The Friends also have ongoing projects to repair and restore the many Victorian era structures and roadways that have suffered from earlier neglect. Hundreds of overturned monuments have also been re-erected.   

Aldridge, George Washington
December 28, 1856 - June 13, 1922
Politician
Specific Interment Location: Section D

Anthony, Susan B. .
February 15, 1820 - March 13, 1906
Early pioneer in women's suffrage movement

Bausch, John Jacob.
July 25, 1830 - February 14, 1926
Co-Founder of Bausch and Lomb, Inc.

Boyd, Lt. Thomas .
- September 13,1779
Indian torture victim

Carman, Warren.
-October 17, 1894
Civil War Medal of Honor recipient

Carver, Dr. Hartwell .
1789 - April 16, 1875
Founder of the Transcontinental Railroad

Child, Jonathan .
January 30, 1785 - October 27, 1860
First Mayor of Rochester

Clarke, Freeman .
March 22, 1809 - June 24,1887
Comptroller of the Currency, during the Lincoln administration

Cobb, Gideon.
Rochester pioneer
Cleared forest for many roads.
Owned Brick factory

Cody (Thorp), Arta
1866 - 1904
Buffalo Bill's Daughter
Specific Interment Location: Range 2, Middle Section, Southwest Corner

Cody, Kit Carson
Buffalo Bill's Son
Specific Interment Location: Range 2, Middle Section, Southwest Corner

Cody, Orra Maude
Buffalo Bill's Daughter
Specific Interment Location: Range 2, Middle Section, Southwest C

Crapsey, Adelaide
1878 - October 8, 1914
Imagist Poet
Specific Interment Location: Range 2, Near Elmwood Avenue.

Culver, Oliver..
January 25, 1779 - February 2, 1867
Rochester Pioneer
First Supervisor of Brighton

Douglass, Frederick (Frederick Augustus Washington Bayley) .
February 7, 1817 - February 20, 1895
Abolitionist / Editor

Ellwanger, George .
December 2, 1816 - November 26, 1906
Co-founder of Ellwanger & Barry Nurseries

Ely, Alfred .
February 15, 1815 - May 18, 1892
United States Congressman
While observing the Battle of Bull Run was captured,
and held prisoner for six months.

Fitzpatrick, Cynthia (unmarked grave)
1864 - 1983
Oldest person buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery, died at 118 years of age
Specific Interment Location: Single Grave 15, Row 387, Range 3

Fox, Stanley Hubert .
April 13, 1874 - April, 15 1912
Machinist, Sales representative of Gleason Works
Died on the Titanic

Frost, Elizabeth Holster
March 1, 1887 - April 9, 1958
Poet / Novelist

Gannett, Frank Earnest .
September 15, 1876 - December 3, 1957
Newspaper Publisher / Founded Gannett Group.
Specific Interment Location: Section MM

Gould, Gen. Jacob .
February 10, 1794 - November 19, 1867
First Democratic mayor of Rochester
Specific Interment Location: Section C, Lot 40

Green, Seth.
1817 - 1888
Originator of Fish Hatcheries
Inventor of the fishing reel

Hard, James .
1841 - 1953
Oldest male in cemetery, 111, he was the last Civil War Combat Veteran. His death left only one remaining Union survivor, and three veterans of the Confederate forces.
Specific Interment Location: Range 1, Lot 168

Harrison, Lester .
August 20, 1904 - December 23, 1997
Pioneer in development of professional basketball
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
International Jewish Hall of Fame
Specific Interment Location: Range 7

Holley, Myron .
April 28, 1779 - March 4, 1841
Promoted construction of the Erie Canal, then managed it's construction

Konz, Capt. Gustav.
1905 - 1978
American Airlines Captain, piloted first jetliner into Rochester - 1966
Specific Interment Location: Range 7

Lomb, Henry .
November 24, 1828 - June 13, 1908
Co-Founder of Bausch and Lomb, Inc.

Marshall, Gen. E. G. .
1829 - 1883
US Civil War General
Specific Interment Location: Section G, Lot 193, North Side

Myers, Jacob .
- April 1,1920
Invented Voting Machine

Millener, Alexander .
1761 - March 13, 1865
George Washington's 'Drummer Boy'
Specific Interment Location: Range 2, Northeast Corner

Morgan, Lewis Henry .
November 21, 1818 - December 17, 1881
Anthropologist (Founder of American Anthropology)

Parker, Sgt. Michael .
- September 13,1779
Indian torture victim

Requa, Dr. Josephus.
1833 - 1910
Dentist
Inventor of the first practical machine gun

Reynolds, Abelard.
1785 - 1878
Early Rochester Pioneer
First Postmaster of Rochester
Owner, Reynolds Arcade

Reynolds, Mortimer

Rochester, Col. Nathaniel .
February 21, 1752 - May 17, 1831
Founder of the city of Rochester

Selden, George Baldwin .
September 14, 1846 - January 17, 1922
Pioneering Automobile Inventor

Selden, Henry R. .
October 14, 1805 - September 18, 1885
One of the organizers of the Republican party
Financed early development of the telegraph
Offered office of Vice President by Lincoln

Sibley, Hiram .
February 6, 1807 - July 12, 1888
Founder of Western Union, instigated purchase of Alaska

Stedman,  John Harry .
 - October 20, 1922
Inventor of the Streetcar Transfer
Inventor of the Fuzzy Pipe Cleaner

Strasenburgh, Edwin G .
August 1, 1892 - September 13, 1977
Pharmaceutical Industrialist / Philanthropist
(Strasenburgh Planetarium, Rochester, NY)
Specific Interment Location: Section MM

Strong (Woodbury), Margaret .
1897 - 1969
World's largest collector of dolls and doll houses
(Strong Museum, Rochester, NY)
Specific Interment Location: Section C

Vick, James .
1775 - 1855
Vick Nurseries

Wald, Lillian D.
Founder of Public Nursing Service

Ward, Henry .
1834 - 1906
World traveler, collector, Professor
Founder of Ward's Natural Science Establishment

Watson, Don Alonzo .
June 15, 1807 - 1892
Hiram Sibley's Partner in Western Union
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Mt. Hope Cemetery from the east
Mt. Hope Cemetery, feeder canal, and railroad bridge
Ornamental Moorish gazebo
Mt. Hope Cemetery
View from Oak Ave.
The Terrace
The Terrace
View near chapel, south
Herrick Monument
Pitkin Vault or Tomb
L. C. Spencer's Monument
View from Dr. Carver's Monument
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Mt. Hope Cemetery, 1846
Mt. Hope Cemetery, 2000
 

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